Replace "the Zuma" with "Terran" or "Kabrinskia", and you'll probably find that it's the same.
They're a power in that area. Trying to pretend they don't exist, or expecting that they'll pretend you don't exist, seems to me to be pretty unrealistic.
Think of them as another realm, and a lot of your complaints about them suddenly sound really absurd.
No, it's not the same.
Kabrinskia has multiple players. I can have spies in Kabrinskia. Kabrinskia can change. Kabrinskia can be destroyed without the fear that Tom will swoop down and say, "Sorry, not allowed" and veto the action (and before you hasten to laugh at that idea, go review everything any Dev has said about how the Zuma are meant to be there: it implies that removing the Zuma is not credible). In sum, the Zuma
are unfightable. It doesn't matter if you win, you can still reasonably expect to lose. It doesn't matter how careful your politics are, the GM will veto it. It doesn't matter if it's the first real war in the area in many players' game memory: the GM isn't there so you'll have fun, the GM is there to.... who knows? Apparently some people know, and aren't saying.
The normal realm is composed of players with different desires and aims who generally want to have fun. Neither condition is true for the Zuma. The average realm can credibly be expected to stay dead. This is not true for the Zuma. The average realm wants to have politicking. This is not true for the Zuma. The average realm does not consist of nobles who enjoy sitting in one region for months on end. This is not true for the Zuma.
If the Zuma behaved like a normal realm, I'd be fine with that.
